Ye Palaeontographical Society

England’s Palaeontographical Society was founded in 1847. It still exists today and works to support research and to advance knowledge of the fossil floras and faunas of Great Britain and Ireland.  Its primary activity has always been publishing scholarly works by its members, including Richard Owen’s early descriptions of dinosaurs and Charles Darwin’s classic study of fossil barnacles.  But this rather charming menu –with its caricatures and elaborate design– suggests that at least one other activity was supported: dining in convivial company.  The menu is in Latin, but one hopes that conversation was not restricted to that language.  Not surprisingly for such ephemera, the menu is extremely rare, with only one other known copy.